Adventurous Woman: ADVENTURE COMICS #418

Throughout the '70s and a good chunk of the '80s, Black Canary appeared in backup stories of her own or with Green Arrow in the pages of World's Finest Comics, Detective Comics, and in a few notable cases, Adventure Comics.

In April 1972, Dinah appeared in Adventure Comics #418 in a story written by Dennis O'Neill and drawn by Alex Toth.  The story is reprinted in the Black Canary Archives hardcover collection.  I don't have the actual print comic, which sucks because I would love to read the Supergirl and Doctor Mid-Nite stories included.  Maybe Anj from Comic Box Commentary is familiar with the issue.

The story was untitled when first published in Adventure, but credited as "The Canary and the Cat" in the Archives collection.  Here now, the first part of O'Neill and Toth's story.  I've included the whole thing because, well, because I can't deprive anyone of Toth's luscious depiction of the character.

Come back tomorrow for part 2!

Golden Oldie: FLASH COMICS #87 (Sep 1947)

Black Canary made her second appearance in the Johnny Thunder strip in Flash Comics #87.  Whereas her first appearance was a six-page story, her second comes in at seven pages.  Once again, her story is crafted by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino.

In her debut last issue, the Canary appeared as a masked woman of mystery who stole from criminals and bedeviled the lovestruck hero, Johnny Thunder.  Were the Canary's intentions virtuous?  It hardly seemed that way.  More like the gangsters got in her way and Johnny was a means to an end for her.

Let's see what happens this time...

The papers say she's a criminal but she says she's being framed.  Meanwhile, she gives Johnny a mysterious package that he pledges to protect.  Of course, he's holding the package for all of three seconds before some goons in suits take it from him and beat him up.

Black Canary sends him a message attached to a rock she nails him in the head with.  The note says the package is "worse than dynamite in the wrong hands" so he pursues the men who took it.  Somewhat clumsily following the goons to their hideout--a castle--he sneaks in and announces his own brilliance.  Which gives his presence away, allowing the gangsters to capture him.

They throw him in a sack being slowly lowered into a pit of alligators.  But while the boss examines the package's contents...

The boss explains that the packages was contained a stuffed owl, inside which was the diary of the same crime boss.  Were the diary to fall into the police's possession, it would clear up tons of unsolved crimes and put the guy in jail for life.

At that point, Johnny Thunder arrives to fight the gangsters.  In his fashion, he closes his eyes and bumps into a suit of knight's armor, which falls into the goons.

Well, that story certainly positioned her as a crime fighter with a dubious reputation and public image, but no less virtuous heart.

Interesting that Johnny Thunder's magical genie, the Thunderbolt, does not appear in this story.  Maybe the brevity of the story didn't allow for its interference, or maybe Black Canary took the place of the Thunderbolt's straight man fighter while Johnny played the comical bumbling hero.

Come back next Sunday for another Golden Age adventure of Black Canary in Flash Comics #88!

Check Out Another Sandman Review

It's Saturday, and that means another review of Sandman Mystery Theatre is up on The Sandman Slept Here!

Brotherhood of the Fist Part 5: GREEN ARROW #135

The Brotherhood of the Monkey Fist cult is out to kill the current Green Arrow, Connor Hawke, but Batman, Robin, and Nightwing have his back.  Lady Shiva has come to Gotham to challenge Connor to single combat, and she'll kill any Monkeys that get in her way.  Meanwhile, ex-CIA spook Eddie Fyers has traveled to Southeast Asia to the headquarters of the Monkey Fist, where Black Canary and Bronze Tiger are being held captive.  Fyers is there to stop the cult, but the hired gun Deathstroke has their back.

Green Arrow #135: "Brotherhood of the Fist Part 5: The Borrowed Life" was written by Chuck Dixon, drawn by Doug Braithwaite, inked by Robin Riggs, and colored by Lee Loughridge.

In the wreckage of a luxury hotel knocked over by the Gotham earthquake, Connor and Nightwing come face to face with Lady Shiva.  She is in town because, like a shark attracted to the scent of blood in the water, she heard that the Monkeys were taking out martial arts masters and she wanted a piece of the action.  Specifically, she wants Connor Hawke, whose status as a Master has risen since he defeated the Silver Monkey.

Shiva incapacitates Nightwing fairly easily, and then she and Connor square off.

While Nightwing, as well as Batman and Robin battle Monkeys in other parts of the hotel, Shiva tells Connor that she will kill him to secure her place as the greatest fighter in the world.

In the headquarters of the Monkey Fist, Fyers and Deathstroke draw down on each other and open fire.  The chaotic shootout in the temple is overheard by Black Canary and Bronze Tiger, who are trapped in a cell below.  Fyers is wounded, but he sets off some shaped charges and the explosion traps Deathstroke on the other side of the temple.

Back in Gotham, Shiva praises Connor's ability even as she escalates her attacks to kill him.

In the Monkey cages...

The original Silver Monkey is also locked up and pleads for Fyers to release him.  Fyers doesn't.  He escapes with Canary and Bronze Tiger, while the Sensei of the Brotherhood saves Deathstroke, but admonishes him for his failure to stop Fyers.

In Gotham, Shiva is about to kill Connor.

Lady Shiva grants Robin's request, and takes off, leaving Connor and the rest alive.  Robin and Nightwing help Connor recover while pumping up his self-esteem by talking about how few people have ever come that close to defeating Shiva.

Batman's praise is more dire and dreadful than the youths.  He tells Connor that his new credentials as a master fighter is going to paint a target on his back.

Connor accepts the inevitability and circle of events: "Win, lose, or tie -- another enemy will be there to take the last one's place."

This was a fun rock 'em, sock 'em little crossover.  I don't think the story needed to be five chapters--three or four could have sufficed perfectly well.  As much as I love seeing Black Canary and Bronze Tiger teamed up, they didn't accomplish anything and their entire part in the story could have been reduced to a couple panels in one issue.  Since I don't care about Eddie Fyers and I've never been a big Deathstroke fan, that whole subplot was uninteresting to me, as well.

I read Green Arrow #0 as part of the Zero Hour even back in the '90s.  That was the first time I saw Connor Hawke, and I was intrigued enough to read a few more GA issues after that.  At the time, I liked that Hawke was younger and "greener" than Oliver Queen; that made him feel like my generation's Green Arrow, the whole purpose for the Legacy heroes that DC kept churning out decade after decade.  I'm glad Oliver Queen is back, because I've since read more (and I've grown up) and I want him to be the Emerald Archer.

Is there a place for Connor today?  Not in the New 52, not when Ollie and the rest of the heroes have been de-aged to their early/mid twenties.  I guess Connor and Wally West and Donna Troy will have to exist on a parallel Earth somewhere.  Maybe we'll see them again someday.

Brotherhood of the First Part 4: NIGHTWING #23

When Green Arrow Connor Hawke defeated the deadly Silver Monkey in combat, the Sensei of the Monkey Fist cult sent waves of warriors after Connor, Batman, and every other martial arts master in the world.  Connor is now working in Gotham with Batman, Robin, and Nightwing to defend the city from the various Monkey assassins, while Black Canary and Bronze Tiger are tracking the cult back to its headquarters in Asia.

Nightwing #23: "Brotherhood of the Fist Part 4: Paper Revelations" was written by Chuck Dixon, drawn by Scott McDaniel, inked by Karl Story, and colored by Roberta Tewes.  Like Will Rosado's line work in the previous chapter, I think McDaniel's art is a little too cartoonish for the content of this story, but it's not bad.  The inking and coloring keep it from looking too much like an all-ages or junior readers comic.

Gotham's police force is called in to deal with the corpses of two dozen Obsidian Monkeys.  Batman tells Commissioner Gordon that it's not a matter for the police to investigate, that the cops would only put themselves in danger by chasing leads on the assassins.  Connor, Nightwing, and Robin speculate on who could be killing the Monkeys if it's not Eddie Fyers or King Snake, both of whom are out of the city.  At that moment, the Bamboo Monkey challenges Connor to a fight.

In the jungles of Southeast Asia, Black Canary and Bronze Tiger are closing in on the temple of the Monkey Fist.  Unbeknownst to them, though, is that the Monkeys are closing in on them.

Back in Gotham, the Bamboo Monkey fights Connor, Robin, and Nightwing.  He nearly kills Nightwing when...

Robin and Nightwing praise Connor's fighting prowess, then the three of them go to Oracle to get more information.  They figure that the different schools of Monkey assassins--Silver, Bamboo, Bronze, Steel, Obsidian, Emerald, etc.--have to do with matching the properties of the element involved to the fighting style and skill of the warrior.  They continue to press what Eddie Fyers suggested before, that the fewer members of a particular group of Monkeys, the more deadly they are.

Speaking of Fyers, he chartered a helicopter and gets dropped off in the jungle near the Monkey headquarters.  Black Canary and Bronze Tiger are already at the temple, though--as prisoners!

In Gotham, Batman has found the signature of the Paper Monkey who is killing off the other assassins, and he knows who she is.

Eddie Fyers arrives at the Monkey temple and angrily calls them out so he can start killing.

Nightwing discovers the location of the Monkey's Gotham base of operations, an old hotel that went down on its side during the Earthquake.  Batman, Connor, Nightwing and Robin split up and search the hotel.

Connor and Nightwing find the assassins a battle of their own.  The Paper Monkey is killing off the rest, and Nightwing knows that Batman was right about Paper Monkey's identity.

She unmasks and reveals herself to be Lady Shiva Woosan and she tells Connor Hawke it will be the greatest honor of his life to die at her hand.

This issue was okay, but repeated almost everything that happened in Part 3.  The Monkeys haven't felt like a serious threat for a couple chapters now, because Shiva is taking them out for herself before she attacks Connor.  As such, it feels like the heroes are in a holding pattern, just waiting for the time when the enemy strikes.

I was disappointed to see Canary and Bronze Tiger get captured, mostly because it was off page.  I would have loved to see the two of them do some actual fighting, especially if they went up against Deathstroke, but that didn't happen.

The story wraps up tomorrow in Green Arrow #135.

Brotherhood of the Fist Part 3: ROBIN #55

The deadly Monkey Fist cult has dispatched assassins all over the world to kill Green Arrow and basically anyone with a martial arts background.  Connor Hawke and Batman barely survived an encounter when an avalanche buried them in the mountains outside Gotham.  Former government agent Eddie Fyers related what he knew about the cult to Nightwing and Robin, and Bronze Tiger saved Black Canary from a Monkey attack.  The two are now working together.

Robin #55: "Brotherhood of the Fist Part 3: Monkey Fist" was written by Chuck Dixon, with art by Will Rosado, inks by Stan Woch, and colors by Adrienne Roy.  I can't read the signature of the cover artist, and it's not credited inside so it might be Rosado.  It looks nothing like the interior art, though.  The cover is awful.  Any comparisons I can think of feel like insults to Bobble-Head Dolls or whatever else.  I would look at this cover and never, ever, ever buy this comic except that it's part three of the crossover.

Anyway, Batman and Connor Hawke are stranded in the snow-covered wilderness.  At least, Connor thinks they're stranded.  Batman doesn't get stranded; he's always prepared, right?

How does Batman know the Monkey Fist is targeting every martial artist?  He's been incommunicado with all of the other characters that were attacked.

Far from Gotham, the Sensei of the Monkeys is dismayed that Eddie Fyers is killing so many of his warriors because Fyers uses guns.  So the Sensei hires someone with a gun--Deathstroke, the Terminator--to take out Fyers when he comes for the Sensei.

Later, back in Gotham, the titular hero of this comic, Robin, is on patrol with Connor Hawke, who has taken up with Batman's circle of crime fighters until the monkey business (couldn't help it) is sorted out.  Robin and Connor save a hostage from some street thugs, and then they discuss the damage the earthquake caused to the city, unaware that more Monkey cultists are following them.

Batman goes to see Oracle to find out what she's learned about the Monkey Fist.  She offers the data, but won't tell him where she's getting it from.

Right after Batman leaves, Oracle makes contact with her source--Black Canary.

Black Canary doesn't tell Oracle she's working with Bronze Tiger, but doesn't tell Ben who she was talking to either.  Keeping both of her worlds separate, perhaps?  Bronze Tiger recalls his adjacent connection to Oracle from his Suicide Squad days.

This little scene tickles me.  I accept and expect that Dinah is just playing the part of good intel operative and compartmentalizing her worlds.  Oracle and Bronze Tiger don't need to know of each other right now; this is a security measure for her.  On the other hand, there's a little part of me that wonders if--between the pages--something sexual was going on between Dinah and Ben during this little continent-jumping search for answers.  I've always thought that Canary and Tiger would make an interesting and exciting couple.  Maybe not in the long term, but they have enough in common that a romantic dalliance wouldn't be unexpected or unwanted.

Batman, Nightwing, and Connor meet with Eddie Fyers so Batman can tell the man to get the hell out of his city.  Before leaving, Fyers reveals something he knows about the organizational structure of the Monkeys.  There are different schools and disciplines, and different numbers of members based on how skilled and masterful the school is.  This explains why there is one Silver Monkey who is one of the deadliest fighters in the world, but the Emerald or Bronze Monkeys get mowed down effortlessly by the heroes.

Elsewhere in the city, the mysterious Paper Monkey declares her intentions to fight Connor Hawke in single combat to restore the honor of the Brotherhood.  She tells her underlings to keep Batman and his partners distracted, but insists that no one is to harm Robin else she will kill him.

Speaking of Robin--since this is supposed to be his book--he and Connor are out patrolling again, talking about learning to drive and things like that.  Connor asks Tim if Batman is his father.

Obsidian Monkeys are stalking Connor and Robin, but before they can attack, the Paper Monkey backs up her previous declaration.

Before killing the last of the Obsidians, Paper Monkey makes clear that she is not in Gotham at the behest of the Brotherhood's sensei.  She is here on her own with her own agenda.  Who is this woman?  Why does she have a personal beef against  Robin?  And what will happen when she faces Connor?  Maybe those answers will be revealed in Part 4 tomorrow!

Overall, this was another good issue, but not as strong as the previous two.  Will Rosado's art is too cartoonish for the heavy themes and seriousness of this story.  For all that this is an issue of Robin, Tim Drake only appears in like five and a half pages.  When he does appear, though, he offers some nice insight into Batman and how Batman respects Connor Hawke's ability even if he would never say it.

Two more major players were introduced in this issue: Deathstroke and Paper Monkey, whose identity will be revealed later for anyone who couldn't guess who she is.  But Deathstroke's inclusion feels more or less like an afterthought, and assigning him the role of bodyguard and waiting for a nobody like Eddie Fyers to show up looking for the Sensei feels beneath his character.  And I'm not even a Deathstroke fan.

I love the pairing of Black Canary and Bronze Tiger, but they only get two pages and not much to do in this issue.  I wish there was more of these two together in the future.

Come back tomorrow for Part 4 in Nightwing #23.

Brotherhood of the Fist Part 2: DETECTIVE COMICS #723

In the first part of "Brotherhood of the Fist", the mysterious and deadly Monkey Fist cult, in an effort to restore their honor and pride--launched an all-out assault on the Green Arrow Connor Hawke and every other renowned martial arts master in the DC Universe.  Connor teamed up with Batman to ward off the Emerald Monkeys, but a self-destruct mechanism in may have trapped them beneath a mountain.

Detective Comics #723: "Brotherhood of the Fist Part 2: Fight Back to Gotham" was written by Chuck Dixon, drawn by Alex Maleev, inked by Bill Reinhold, and colored by Gloria Vasquez.  I first read this issue back in 1998 when it came out, but I completely forgot that Alex Maleev worked on a couple issues of 'Tec in the '90s.  Also, I made such a big deal of Maleev drawing Black Canary in last November's issue of Batman: The Dark Knight that I forgot he had already drawn her in this issue sitting in my old longbox.

The issue opens with Batman and Connor Hawke crawling their way out of the smoldering wreckage of the Kobra headquarters and finding themselves isolated on the snow-capped mountain.  Isolated, but not alone.  More assassins crawl out of the snow and attack.

Meanwhile, Nightwing has returned to Gotham City, which is still recovering from the cataclysmic earthquake that nearly destroyed the entire city.  He teams up with the new Robin, Tim Drake, and the two head out on patrol together.

While Nightwing and Robin fight Monkeys in the city, Batman and Connor fight them in the country.

I love how Batman speaks of Oliver Queen to Connor in these issues.  You can't help but read the subtextual respect and mourning even when it sounds like Batman is criticizing the former Green Arrow.

Before long, the snow Monkeys give up the fight and run from Batman and Connor, choosing to let the mountain itself kill them.

Back in Gotham, Nightwing and Robin are pinned down by spear-tossing Monkeys when Eddie Fyers shows up and guns them all down (the assassins, not the heroes).  Fyers knows Tim Drake from a previous encounter, which is all that keeps Nightwing from attacking the man he calls a "murderer".

Instead, Fyers tells them about the Silver Monkey, the Monkey cult, and the fact that anybody with martial arts mastery (including Judomaster, Katana, and the Question) has been targeted.

After Nightwing convinces Fyers to bug out of town before Batman gets back, he and Robin go to Oracle to confirm the ex-CIA spook's intel.

This issue came out between Birds of Prey: Manhunt and the ongoing series.  Black Canary is still working as Barbara Gordon's field agent.  She was on a simple recon mission working a case when the Monkeys attack her.

Elsewhere, at the Brotherhood of the Monkey Fist's lair, the Sensei tells his followers that Connor Hawke and Batman are dead and that the time is right for the Monkey cult to take its place as combat champions of the world.  Of course, the original Silver Monkey, who is sitting in a prison cell, doesn't believe Connor is dead.  And he's right.

Like the first part of the story, chapter two of "Brotherhood of the Fist" is a fun, action-packed story.  The infusion of Nightwing and Robin into the story brings a youthful energy and levity that could be lost in Batman's brooding and Connor's stoic determination.  Fighting crime isn't a war for the Robins the way it is for Batman; it's a job.  A job they enjoy the hell out of, but a job nonetheless.  Batman can't turn it off, but Tim and Dick can, which gives them a swagger and attitude while they patrol that resonates like Spider-Man or Daredevil.

The other terrific part of the story are the cameos and guest appearances.  Black Canary and Bronze Tiger are two of my favorite characters, and to see them together, actually working together now, is a treat.  Can't wait to see what happens to them tomorrow when I review Part 3!

Brotherhood of the Fist Part 1: GREEN ARROW #134

I'm not sure what this year has in store for Black Canary in the pages of DC Comics or the television series Arrow or anything else.  What I can say with confidence, though, is that 2014 is going to be a great year for Flowers & Fishnets.  I've got three different Black Canary series to review, as well as her adventures in Action Comics Weekly, World's Finest Comics, Birds of Prey and others.  But before I delve too deeply into any of those, I thought I'd spend the first full week of the new year covering a Batman/Green Arrow crossover I recently re-discovered.

"Brotherhood of the Fist" was published in the Summer of 1998 and ran through Green Arrow #134, Detective Comics #723, Robin #55, Nightwing #23, and Green Arrow #135.  All five parts were written by Chuck Dixon, the creator of Birds of Prey.  "Brotherhood" came out in between the Birds of Prey: Manhunt miniseries and the ongoing series that premiered in 1999.  Black Canary appears in four of the five chapters, thus my compulsion to review them.

Green Arrow #134: "Brotherhood of the Fist part 1: The Stalkers" was drawn by Dougie Braithewaite with inks by Robin Riggs and colors by Lee Loughridge.  At this point in the history of Green Arrow, the Emerald Archer is not Oliver Queen but his bastard son, Connor Hawke.

After Connor bests the Silver Monkey in combat, the Master of the Brotherhood of the Monkey Fist cult holds a meeting for all his followers.  He shames and decries the Silver Monkey for dishonoring the Brotherhood with his ignominious defeat.

The Master seeks to restore the Brotherhood's honor by sending wave after wave of Monkeys to kill Green Arrow and everyone he loves (which is less ridiculous than it sounds).

The first wave of assassins are the Bronze Monkeys and their first target is Connor's friends, Master Jansen and Eddie Fyers.  Jansen is Connor's sensei and Fyers is a former CIA spook who first met Oliver Queen and Shado in The Longbow Hunters.  While Jansen prepares for hand-to-hand combat, Fyers ends the fight before it begins by unloading a pair of handguns on the monkeys (which, again, is much less silly in context).  Fyers hits the road to dig up intelligence on why the cult is targeting Connor.

Meanwhile, Connor Hawke has tracked a group of weapons suppliers from San Francisco to Upstate Gotham.  While he snoops around the snow covered cabin, he meets Batman decked out in his arctic weather camouflage.  Batman leads the younger hero through the weaponers' traps and into their secret lair below the cabin.

Connor keeps from geeking out like a fanboy in the presence of Batman, but he is no less impressed by the Dark Knight.  He recognizes Batman's mastery of not only the scientific tools he employs, but the martial arts and covert maneuvers he demonstrates during their reconnaissance.  Batman is less sure of Connor's prowess, though merely allowing him to tag along is an endorsement where Batman is concerned.

Far below the cabin, they find a Kobra command center, and a whole bunch of dead Kobra members.

The three green-colored Monkeys (Jade Monkeys? Emerald Monkeys?) tie up Batman and attack Connor.  Green Arrow takes out two of the three, but the last one gets the drop on him.  Thankfully, Batman has freed himself and saves Connor.

Connor and Batman are caught in the Kobra base when the self-destruct mechanism activates.  The issue ends with the heroes' lives on the line as a massive explosion rocks the snowy landscape above. The story is continued in Detective Comics.

The first chapter of "Brotherhood of the Fist" is a quick, action-packed read.  Dixon has a great handle on the characters.  His Batman is the arrogant, abrasive asshole that everyone knows today.  He would be impossible to like if he wasn't so great at his job.  Also, Batman.  Dixon gets the martial arts corner of the DC Universe about as well as Dennis O'Neil.  Connor Hawke is young, but competent.  He doesn't have the naiveté of a Spider-Man or Firestorm, and he doesn't act stupid around Batman.  The addition of the Monkey cult with different colors/properties makes for a terrific new threat.  Dangerous, colorful, good for fodder in a battle.  Also, Monkeys.

Come back tomorrow for my review of Part 2!

Golden Oldie: FLASH COMICS #86 (Aug 1947)

Black Canary made her dramatic debut in Flash Comics #86 back in 1947.

While Hawkman and the Flash headlined the book until from the beginning to the series' cancellation, many other characters got a chance to shine in Flash Comics.  One of the regular features for years was Johnny Thunder, and it was in the pages of this "comedy adventure" strip that the Black Canary first appeared.

Here now, the complete six-page Johnny Thunder story, "The Black Canary" by Robert Kanigher and Carmine Infantino.

[click to enlarge images]

Next Sunday: Another Golden Oldie with a look at Flash Comics #87!

Check Out My Sandman Blog Today

Last month I created a blog based on the Golden Age Sandman character, Wesley Dodds.  Today is the first real post for that blog, a recap of 1993's Sandman Mystery Theatre by Matt Wagner and Guy Davis.  

Every Saturday, I'll update The Sandman Slept Here, so please check it out whether you're a longtime Sandman fan or you've never read the comic before.  I think you'll enjoy!

The Sandman Slept Here

Art by Francesco Francavilla.